Freudian Fraud

Description:

From its beginnings as an exotic Freudian plant in the hot-houses of Greenwich Village, Freud's theory, stressing the importance of childhood experiences in determining personality development, gained increasing popularity throughout the twentieth century, eventually spreading to become an American cultural kudzu. What are the reasons for this country's overwhelming acceptance of a theory now known to have virtually no scientific basis?

subjects: History,  Influence,  Intellectual life,  Nature and nurture,  Psychoanalysis,  Science and psychology,  Social aspects,  Social aspects of Psychoanalysis,  Freud, Sigmund, 1856-1939 -- Influence,  Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.),  Psychoanalytic Interpretation,  Psychoanalytic Theory,  Freud, sigmund, 1856-1939,  Psychoanalysis, social aspects,  Psychoanalysis, history,  United states, intellectual life,  Environment,  Freudian Theory,  Behavioral Genetics,  Social Environment

People: Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

Places: United States

Times: 20th century